Will Ospreay finally reached the mountaintop of All Elite Wrestling back at All In: London, when he defeated Kenny Omega in the show’s main event to win the AEW World Championship.

Ospreay has continued to fight off all comers since winning the title, including against Kazuchika Okada, Jon Moxley and in the Clockwork Carnage at WrestleDream.

However, on this week’s Dynamite, it was an old foe that stepped up to Ospreay, and one who may have given us a clearer look into the end of the Aerial Assassin’s run at the top.

Kyle Fletcher remains AEW’s ‘Protostar’

Since he first turned on Will Ospreay to join the Don Callis Family, Kyle Fletcher has been positioned as arguably AEW’s biggest future breakout star, hence the nickname ‘Protostar’.

After having competed in major matches on pay-per-view, including a World Championship main event against Adam Page last year, and holding the TNT and International Championships, now feels like the perfect time to move Fletcher into contention for the AEW World Championship.

AEW has a number of rising stars that are on the cusp of breaking through, and Fletcher being the one to rise to the top will open the door to many more doing so in the future.

A storied history between Will Ospreay & Kyle Fletcher

Kyle Fletcher and Will Ospreay have a lot of history together dating back to their time in the United Empire before either man signed with AEW.

Fletcher’s turn on Ospreay is what set him on the track to Proto-stardom in the company, with their rivalry last many months and featuring a number of major pay-per-view matches.

At the time, many had theorised that either Fletcher would dethrone Ospreay for the AEW World Championship, or vice versa.

Now that Ospreay has the title, those plans could finally be on the cards.

A shift in character for Kyle Fletcher?

Turning heel and joining the Don Callis Family is what laid the foundation for Fletcher to become one of the best in the world right now.

With AEW teasing a match between Ospreay and Fletcher so soon, it feels like we may be looking at multiple matches between the two.

Ospreay and Fletcher’s first match following the turn happened at Full Gear 2024, so the two running it back two years later for the world title at the same event would be a nice moment.

Fletcher has had tensions with Kevin Knight in the Don Callis Family recently, so the long term play could be for a slight shift in character for Fletcher, becoming more of a ‘tweener’ to build to a second title match with Ospreay, where the Protostar finally becomes champion.